"Spanish Fly"

self-released

Artists:

Kids these days! Between actual teenagers the Smith Westerns, barely legal the xx, and other promising young upstarts such as Pariah and Teengirl Fantasy, it seems like the median age for making compelling music is dropping fast. Add to that list Zach Steinman and Sam Haar of the electronic duo Blondes, two fresh-out-of-college dudes who started the project during a recent trip to Berlin. One of just a few tracks to trickle out from the group so far, the aerial slow-builder "Spanish Fly" displays a craft and restraint that belies their short years. The song begins tentatively, with a few vapory vocal samples that swim in and out of the mix, and as it progresses Blondes patiently unpeel more and more layers. A distant bass thud creeps in, synth pulses worm around, a mechanical, hollow drumbeat insinuates itself, and before you know it, the song reaches a woozy crescendo where just one more sound would be too many. Just then, Blondes dial it backwards, removing each instrument until only the beat remains. Poof, it's gone. You feel the sense of something washed over you, something that left too soon. You miss it. A neat trick in a way, but more than that a display of real compositional skill, which isn't something we typically equate with youth.